Improvement in three high rolls



Three High Ro l ls.

Patented March 5. 1872 J. MOORE & J. FRITZ.

Improvement in x vzzom 2; PM": FTP.

UNITED STATES PATENT Orr-Ion.

JAMES MOORE, OF PHILADELPHIA, AND JOHN FRITZ, OF BETHLEHEM, PA.

IMPROVEMENT IN THREE HIGH ROLLS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 124,370, dated March 5,1872.

Srncrnrcnrron.

We, JAMES MOORE, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and JOHN FRITZ, ofBethlehem, county of Northampton, State of Pennsylvania, have inventedcertain Improvements in Three High Rolls, of which the following is aspecification Nature and Object of the Invention.

Our invention consists of certain improvements in three high rolls, toofully explained hereafter to need preliminary description, the object ofour invention being to render available in practice the plan heretoforeattempted of making the highest and lowest of three high rollsadjustable, while the middle roll revolves in fixed bearings. Furtherobjects of our invention are to facilitate the removal and replacing ofrolls; also, thorough lubrication of the adjusting-screws, and theconstant supply of the journals with water without resorting to thecomplex array of pipes heretofore used for that purpose.

Description of the Accompanying Drawing.

Figure 1 is an end view, partly in section, of a set of three high rollswith the frame or housing, and illustrating our improvements, Fig. 2, anenlarged vertical section representing the adj Listing-screw and nut forthe lower bearing; and Fig. 3, a vertical section of the upper portionof Fig.1.

7 General Description.

A and A are the opposite sides of the foundation, to which are securedby bolts a a the base plates B B, for supporting the several frames orhousings, in which the rolls have their bearings, one only, D, of thesehousings being shown in the drawing. E is the journal of the lowestroll, F that of the intermediate roll, and G that of the highest roll.The journal E revolves in a bearing, b, adapted to vertical guides c 0formed in the housing and supported by a screw, the peculiar characterand surroundings of which will bebest understood by reference to theenlarged view, Fig. 2. The threads of the screw H are adapted to theinternal threads of the nut I, which is fitted snugly and driven tightlyinto the lower end of the housing, until shoulders d d on the nut bearon corresponding ledges formed in the said housing, as clearly shown inFig. 1. On the rounded upper end of the screw H bears a cap, J, arrangedto fit snugly and slide freely on the cylinder K, the latter surroundingthe screw, but being free from contact with the same, and being let intoand secured to the top of the nut I. A cylinder, K, rests on and issecured to a collar, 0, at the lower end of the screw, and is arrangedto slide in a cylinder, J, secured to the under side of the nut. The capJ is provided with an internal packing, f, so as to effectually bar theaccess of any particles of dirt to the screw, and the same remark willapply to the packing of the cylinder J.

It will be seen that the bearing 1) of the lower roll E rests directlyon the cap J, the latter bearing on the rounded end of the screw, sothat on turning the latter to raise or lower the bearing, the cap J willslide freely on the cylinder K, and accommodate itself to the varyingheight of the screw, the cylinder K below being similarlyself-accommodating, the packing, however, in both cases maintaining thejoints perfectly tight. This is an important feature of our invention,inasmuch as when the rolls are in operation particles of scale must fallfrom the iron as it is being rolled, and if these particles fell on anunprotected screw and adhered to its threads, it would soon becomeinoperative. In fact it is this protection of the lower screw by whichthe plan heretofore attempted of adjusting the bottom roll from belowcan be carried into practical effect. It may be remarked'that the cap Jmay be arranged to slide within a cylindrical projection on the nut, andthe cylinder K may be arranged to slide on the outside of the cylinder Jbut we prefer the plan described for reasons which will be obvious. Itis most important that the heavy screws for controlling and adjustingthe bearings of rolls should be always thoroughly lubricated, so as toprevent adhesion, which is apt to take place, and so as to be easilyoperated with the promptitude and facility which the circumstancesrequire.

In order to insure and maintain a thorough lubrication, a central hole,h, is bored through the screw H, and smaller transverse holes i arebored in the screw between the threads at repeated intervals, so thatoil injected into the hole 71. by any suitable appliances may haveaccess to the threads. A nut, 1, similar to that below, is fitted to theupper end of the housing, and its screw H is protected with packedself-accommodating cylinders in the same manner as the lower screw. Theprotection of the upper screw is not so important, however, as it isbelow, as it is not within the range of falling particles of scales; butwe prefer to protect it; and, in fact, the screws of ordinary rolls,with the packed cylinders, as shown in Fig. 3, so that no particlesagitated by draughts or falling from the roof of the mill, can gainaccess to the screw.

It will be observed that the housing or frame D is extended much higherabove the rolls than usual, and that the upper screw H does not beardirectly 011 the bearing L of the top roll, but that a pillar, m,intervenes between the two, for a, purpose which I will now proceed toexplain. It is necessary in many rolling-mills to repeatedly change therolls, an operation which, as housings are usually made, demands muchtedious labor, which it is the object of this part of my invention todispense with. When it is desirable to remove the rolls shown in thedrawing, the upper screw H is so far elevated as to release the pillarM, which is withdrawn. Rods m, suspended from an adjacent crane, arethen lowered through holes on m in the housing, and their ends passedinto verticalholes in the bearin g L of the upper roll, and temporarilysecured thereon by transverse keys n a. By means of the rods the upperbearing is now hoisted to the termination of its guides in the housing,and by means of double hooks or dogs passed at one end into holes 1) inthe bearing, and at the upper end, through holes in lugs 12 12, thehearing L is suspended to the housing, and the roll G is at liberty tobe removed in the usual manner. The detachable supports q q of the toproll are now removed from the housing. The nuts 15 of the bolts N, whichconfine the upper and lower bearings P and P of the middle roll F to thehousing, are loosened and removed, the rods m m detached from the suspended bearing L by the withdrawal of the keys at, and the rods thenlowered into the holes of the upper bearing P, and connected to thelatter by the same keys, when this bearing is hoisted and suspended byhooks or links to the bearing L, already suspended to the housing. Themiddle roll is now removed, the rods m m lowered, as before, connectedto the bearing P, which is hoisted and suspended to the other suspendedbearings, and the middle and lower roll can now be removed.

It will now be seen without further explanation what facilities thispart of our invention afi'ords for the ready removal of the rolls, andit will be unnecessary to explain how readily other rolls may besubstituted for those removed and adapted to their bearin gs ready foruse.

It is usual to suspend above rolling-mills an intricate system ofwaterpipes, so that constant streams of water may play on the re volvingjournals. These pipes are frequently in the way, and are often damagedby the hurried movement of masses of iron and implements which accompanyrolling mill operations. In order to dispense with these pipes we formin the lower portion of each housing a passage, w, which communicateswith a similar vertical passage formed in the upper and lower bearings Pand P of the middle roll, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, thepassage terminating at an orifice, w, in the said upper bearing. Aconstant supply of water is introduced below into the passage 10, andmay be distributed to the three journals through short pipescommunicating with the orifice w, the usual array of suspended pipesbeing thus dispensed with.

In three high rolls of the usual construction. the lowest roll revolvesin fixed bearings, the bearings of the middle and upper rolls beingadjustable vertically; hence the bearing of the lowest and highest rollmust always be subjected to a strain at every pass of the metal, nomatter whether the pass be between the upper and middle roll, or betweenthe latter and the lower roll. Of the three high rolls described,however, the middle roll revolves in fixed bearings P and P, which arefirmly secured by bolts N N to the housings, so that in making a passbetween the middle and lower rolls, the bearin gs of these rolls onlyreceive the strain from which the bearing of the upper roll is entirelyfree. In like manner when the pass is made between the top roll andmiddle roll, the bearings of the lower roll. are free from all strain;hence it will be seen that the strain on the rolls and on their bearingsis more evenly distributed by the abovedeseribed arrangement than inordinary three high rolls. There are other advantages in thisarrangement which those familiar with rollin gmill machinery willreadily understand without explanation. This arrangement, which has beenheretofore attempted, cannot be carried into practical effect withoutproperly protecting the lower screw, and this we have accomplishedthoroughly by the system of self-accommodating slides described above.

It may be remarked that the manner of fitting the adjustable and fixedbearings of the rolls to the housing does not differ materially fromthat usually adopted. It may also be stated that the extension inaltitude of the housing and the interposition of a pillar or storybetween the upper screw and the bearing of the top roll, is animprovement which may be applied with advantage to other rollin g-millswith the view of facilitating the removing and replacing of the rolls.The movement of the upper and lower screws should be simultaneous, andthis can be eil'ected by different systems of gearing which it has notbeen deemed necessary to illustrate in the drawing.

We do not claim, broadly, three high rolls in which the lowest andhighest rolls are adjustable, and in which the middle roll revolves infixed bearings. WVe do not claim, broadly, the combination or: thehousing, screw, top bearing, and movable block, as short blocks or stepsfor receiving the end of the screw have been used in such combinations;but

We claim 1. The pillar m, arranged between the top bearing L and thescrew, and of such a length that when removed the said bearing can beelevated sufficiently to permit the withdrawal of the roll, asdescribed.

2. The combination, in a rolling mill, of the screw H for adjusting theroll-bearings, and a cap, J, fitted to the nut or to an attachmentthereto, so as to rise and fall with the screw without exposing anyportion of the latter.

3. The combination, in a rolling-mill, of the screw H, the flange f, andthe hollow cylinder K, as and for the purpose described.

4. The tubular screw, having transverse holes for the passage oflubricant to the nut,

substantially as specified.

